History of Indian Americans in Metro Detroit facts for kids
The Metro Detroit area has a large and growing population of people from India and Indian Americans. In fact, a 2013 report said that Indians are the biggest group of immigrants in Metro Detroit.
As of 2012, the Indian communities in Farmington Hills and Troy were among the top twenty largest Indian communities in the whole United States. In 2000, there were almost 40,000 people from India living in Metro Detroit. This made them the largest Asian group in the Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland counties. Most of these people live in Oakland County. There's also a big Indian Canadian community nearby in Windsor, Canada.
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History of Indians in Metro Detroit
The first Indians came to Detroit in 1924. There were six of them, including Sarwan Singh Grewal and Arjin Singh. They moved to Detroit from California because they were paid very little there. They drove east, stopped in Chicago for a month, and then settled in Detroit.
By 1990, there were over 16,000 Asian Indians in the larger Detroit area. In the 1990s, Indian businesses and community centers started to appear. You could find them in places like Farmington Hills, Garden City, and Sterling Heights.
The number of Asian Indians in Michigan grew a lot by 2004. There were about 93,000 people, which was almost four times more than in 1990. Many of them moved to Canton Township, Farmington Hills, Troy, and West Bloomfield Township. By 2006, most of the over 100,000 Asian Indians in Michigan lived in Metro Detroit.
Where Indians Live in Metro Detroit
Many Indian people live in Canton Township, Farmington Hills, and Troy. In 2008, the city of Novi was also noted for having a large Asian Indian population.
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Troy had almost 4,700 Asian Indians. Canton Township had over 3,400, and Farmington Hills had about 3,300. Novi had almost 1,300. In 2014, an article mentioned that Bloomfield Township also has an Indian community. By 2006, there was also a group of Indians in West Bloomfield Township.
Inside the city of Detroit itself, there were almost 3,000 Asian Indians in 2000. By 2002, there were three main areas where Indian Americans lived. One area was next to eastern Hamtramck, where Indian Americans lived alongside people from Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Another area was north of Downtown Detroit. This included places around the Henry Ford Hospital, the Detroit Medical Center, and Wayne State University. Many students and hospital workers from Asia live here temporarily. Most of them are Chinese and Indian. They often don't stay permanently after their studies or work ends.
There is also an area on the west side of Detroit, near Dearborn and Redford Township. This part of the city has a mostly Indian Asian population.
Who Lives Here: Demographics
Many Indian immigrants who come to Metro Detroit already speak English very well. This is especially true for people who work in technology and healthcare. In 2014, over 70% of Indians in Metro Detroit who were born outside the U.S. had at least a college degree.
Jobs and Businesses
Many Indians in Metro Detroit work in information technology (IT) and healthcare. By 2014, the growing need for workers in these fields led to more Indians moving to the area. Car companies often hire Indian IT workers for their technology needs. In 2014, almost half of the Indians in Metro Detroit who were born outside the U.S. earned over $75,000 a year.
There are many businesses that serve the Indian community. These include grocery stores, special websites like www.miindia.com, AM radio stations, wedding planning companies, and clothing shops.
Religion and Faith
In the late 1970s, Indian community leaders decided to build the first Hindu Temple in Michigan. After years of planning and raising money, a Hare Krishna temple opened in Detroit in 1983. Having a religious building showed that these Indian immigrants were settling down in Michigan.
By 2013, new Hindu temples and religious centers had opened in many cities. These included Detroit, Ada, Canton, Hamtramck, Livonia, Novi, Pontiac, Sterling Heights, and Troy. A large Hindu temple, costing $11 million, opened in Troy in 2012.
The Sri Venkateswara Temple and Cultural Center (SVTCC) opened in Novi in 2013. This temple is mainly for people who speak the Telugu language. It was the first Hindu temple in Michigan named after a god from southern India. Other Hindu temples in Metro Detroit include BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Detroit and BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Sterling Heights.
Culture and Fun Activities
India Day is a yearly celebration of Indian culture. It is supported by the India League of America - Michigan.
The Festival of India is held at Philip A. Hart Plaza in Downtown Detroit. It was started by Jaydevi and Bharat Sanghvi. The festival was popular in the 1970s but then stopped for a while. As Detroit changed, Indians started holding their cultural festivals in the suburbs.
In 2005, the festival was restarted by a group called United South Asian Promotions (USAP). This was 20 years after it had stopped. Raj Sanghvi, the son of the original founders, was part of this group.
In 2006, a movie theater called SR Movies in Novi showed both American and Indian films. They played movies in Hindi, Telugu, and other Indian languages. Sonali and Rakesh Gangwani managed the theater. Sonali said it was the first theater in Michigan to show Bollywood films seven days a week. At least one Indian film was shown every day. The theater closed in 2010 due to redevelopment plans for the area.
Anand Kumar started the website Miindia in 1999. It is a popular online place for the Indian community. In 2017, the website had 6,000 unique visitors every day. The Little India of Michigan Newsletter is another publication for the Indian community. It is available online and in local Indian businesses.
Famous People from the Community
- Sanjay Gupta: A doctor and chief medical correspondent for CNN. He lives in Novi.
- Padma Kuppa: An Indian-American Democrat who served as a state representative from Troy, Michigan.
- Sam Singh: An Indian-American who served as a state representative from East Lansing.
- Shri Thanedar: A congressman for Michigan's 13th district.
- Madhu Anderson: She used to be a deputy treasurer for the State of Michigan.
See also
- Demographics of Metro Detroit
- Indo-Canadians in British Columbia
- South Asian Canadians in Greater Vancouver
- South Asian Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area
- Indian community of London
